Magneto-optical studies of epitaxial EuS films on silicon

An improved simple method for magneto-optical display of ferromagnetic domains by means of laser light is reported. As an example, characteristic domain patterns are presented and discussed, which develop during the magnetization reversal of ferromagnetic EuS-films grown epitaxially on silicon substrates. The critical field strength for domain nucleation, H_K, the coercive field, H_c, the saturation field, H_s, and the direction and width of the domains have been studied as function of angle varied between the magnetical easy and hard axes of (110)- and (111)-EuS films, and as a function of temperature between 6 and 14.5 K. By extrapolating the linear decrease of H²_K,cs vs. T to zero the Curie temperature of the (110)- and (111)-EuS films has been determined to (15.3±0.2) K and (14.5±0.2) K, respectively.     

Study of the field dependence of the magnetocaloric effect in Nd1.25Fe11Ti: A multiphase magnetic system

The field dependence of magnetic entropy change ΔS_M(T,H) has been studied in the crystalline sample Nd_1.25Fe₁₁Ti, a multiphase system constituted by three phases: Fe₁₇Nd₂, Fe₇Nd and Fe₁₁TiNd. The magnetic entropy change has been calculated from the numerical derivative of magnetization curves M(T,H) with respect to temperature and subsequent integration in field. To determine the field dependence of the experimental ΔS_M, a local exponent n(T,H) can be calculated from the logarithmic derivative of the magnetic entropy change vs. field. In contrast with the results for single phase materials, where n at the Curie temperature T_C is field independent, it is shown that for a multiphase system n evolves with field both at the Curie temperature of the system and the Curie temperatures of the constituent phases. This is in agreement with numerical simulations using the Arrott-Noakes equation of state.     

Magnetoelectricity in the PbFe1/2Nb1/2O3 Ceramics

The magnetodielectric effect (the influence of a magnetic field H on the dielectric constant ?) and the magnetoelectric effect (the influence of an electric field E on the magnetoelectric constant ??) of the PbFe_1/2Nb_1/2O₃ ceramics have been investigated at temperatures T in the range from 50 to 200°C, including the Curie point T _C ? 98°C. It has been demonstrated that there is a correlation of these effects with the shift of the ferroelectric-paraelectric phase transition temperature in a magnetic field.     

Relation between giant volume magnetostriction and colossal magnetoresistance near the Curie temperature of Sm0.55Sr0.45MnO3

The magnetic, transport, and elastic properties of Sm_0.55Sr_0.45MnO₃ have been established to be interrelated. At the Curie point, one observes a large volume compression ΔV/V≈0.1%, a sharp minimum in the temperature dependence of negative volume magnetostriction ω(T), and a maximum in the temperature dependence of the electrical resistivity. Giant negative volume magnetostriction ω=?5×10^?4 has been found in a magnetic field H=0.9 T, which is accompanied by a colossal negative magnetoresistance of 44% in the same field. The results obtained are discussed in terms of a model of electronic phase separation.     

Field dependence of the thermal conductivity of K2CuCl4 · 2H2O near its ferromagnetic Curie temperature

The thermal conductivity of the ferromagnetic insulator K₂CuCl₄ · 2H₂O has been measured near its Curie temperature T_c. The measurements were made as a function of temperature in constant external magnetic field and as a function of field along isotherms. The results indicate a relaxation rate for magnetic critical scattering of phonons varies as H^?1/2.     

Anisotropy dispersion in (CoCrPt)1−x(SiO2)x perpendicular recording media

The distribution of easy axis orientation in perpendicular media is of technological importance because it affects the value of S^* (see Fig. 1), which quantifies the switching field distribution (SFD) and hence partially determines the data density achievable on a given medium. The distribution is controlled by the crystallographic orientation of grains and factors such as intergranular exchange and dipolar coupling. Due to strong demagnetising fields in the perpendicular orientation, traditional measurements of remanence as a function of angle are difficult to interpret and have required the use of large-scale computational models. In this work we have utilised the variation of coercivity H_C with angle, which has the advantage that at H_C the global demagnetising field is zero. Additionally, since such materials follow essentially the Stoner–Wohlfarth mode of reversal, the variation of H_C with angle, H_C(θ), is much greater than that for the remanence. We find that for (CoCrPt)_1−x(SiO₂)_x, where the level of exchange coupling is controlled, the distribution of magnetic easy axes is narrower when the exchange coupling is reduced, but dipolar coupling between the grains is strong and affects the magnetisation reversal significantly.     

Effect of Mn-site vacancies on the magnetic entropy change and the Curie temperature of La0.67Ca0.33Mn1−xO3 perovskite

Single-phase polycrystalline samples of La_0.67Ca_0.33Mn_1−xO₃ (x=0.00, 0.02, 0.04, 0.06) have been prepared using the sol-gel method. The structure, magnetocaloric properties and the Curie temperature of the samples with different Mn vacancy concentrations have been investigated. The experimental results show that vacancy doping at the Mn-sites has a significant influence on the magnetic properties of La_0.67Ca_0.33Mn_1−xO₃. The Curie temperature decreases monotonically with increasing the Mn-site vacancy concentration x. A remarkable enhancement of the magnetic entropy change has been obtained in the La_0.67Ca_0.33Mn_0.98O₃ sample. The entropy change reaches |ΔS_M|=3.10 J kg⁻¹ K⁻¹ at its Curie temperature (264 K) under an applied magnetic field H=10 kOe, which is almost the same value as that of pure Gd.     

Field dependence of magnetic entropy change: Whence comes an intercept?

The magnetic field-induced entropy change in a ferromagnet undergoing a second-order phase transition at the Curie point is maximum near that point. The maximum magnetic entropy change, (-ΔS)_max, is demonstrated to contain, besides the usual term in H^2/3, a small negative term independent of H. Spatial inhomogeneity of real ferromagnetic materials is shown to be the origin of the off-set term, whose magnitude proves proportional to the width of the distribution of local Curie points.     

Surface impedance of a superconducting slab in the mixed state: Effect of the surface barrier

The effect of the surface barrier on the surface impedance Z of a type-II superconductor slab with a finite thickness is investigated in dc magnetic fields H ₀, which are aligned parallel or perpendicular to the slab plane. It is demonstrated that, in a perpendicular geometry, the surface resistivity ρ_s=ReZ has a maximum when the depth of penetration of the ac magnetic field is of the order of the slab thickness (size effect). For a parallel orientation of the magnetic field H ₀, the effect of the Bean-Livingston surface barrier manifests itself as a decrease in the dissipative loss and a change in the field dependence of the surface resistivity characterized by a magnetic hysteresis. It is shown for the first time that, under the conditions of persistent trapped magnetic flux, the dependence ρ_s(H ₀) is a decreasing function, which is associated, in particular, with a nontrivial suppression of the size effect.     

Influence of annealing on magnetic properties of Co-based metallic glasses

The influence of low-temperature annealing on the magnetic hysteresis loop parameters of magnetostrictive Co-Si-B and nonmagnetostrictive Co-Fe-Si-B glasses was studied. The dependence of Curie temperature (T_C), crystallization temperature (T_x), full-stress-relaxation temperature, saturation magnetostriction constant, saturation magnetization and coercive field H_c on metalloids contents for as quenched Co_100-x(Si_0.5B_0.5)_x glasses was determined.It was found that annealing enhances remanence magnetization for all investigated Co-Si-B glasses. The coercive field of these glasses is influenced by annealing owing to: stress relaxation (resulting in an H_c decrease) and domain structure stabilization (resulting in an H_c increase). Significant H_c reduction for both magnetostrictive and non-magnetostrictive glasses was observed, after annealing above T_C. For glasses with T_C<>T_x, it was necessary to apply an external magnetic field in ord er to decrease H_c.It was found that non-magnetostrictive metallic glasses with low Curie temperatures (T_C ? 450 K) exhibit the most stable magnetic hysteresis loop parameters.     

Magnetic field dependence of asymmetry in the magnetization reversal of ultrathin Co films and Co/Pt multilayers with perpendicular anisotropy

We studied the magnetization reversal in ultrathin [Co/Pt]_n films (n=1, 2, and 4) using magneto-optical Kerr microscopy. These materials demonstrate unusual asymmetries in the activity of nucleation centers and domain wall motion. It was found that application of very high holding magnetic field prior to magnetization reversal, exceeding some critical value much larger than the apparent saturation field, suppresses the subsequent ‘asymmetric’ nucleation centers, activity. We revealed that the ‘asymmetric’ nucleation centers become active again after subsequent reversal cycles coming from a smaller holding field and studied how the asymmetry returns with the decrease of applied holding field. It was found that in low-coercivity ultrathin Co films, the asymmetry in domain wall velocity decreased sharply with the applied field increase and disappeared when the reversal field is greater than μ₀H=1.5 mT.     

Fabrication and magnetic response probed by RF transverse susceptibility in La0.67Ca0.33MnO3 nanowires

The temperature and magnetic field dependence of the radio-frequency (RF) transverse susceptibility (χ_T) of La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃ crystalline nanowires has been studied using a very sensitive self-resonant tunnel-diode oscillator (TDO) technique. The nanowires were synthesized using porous templates of anodized alumina by chemical solution deposition technique, and the crystalline nature of the nanowires with the average diameter of 70 nm was confirmed by TEM, SAED, and HREM. RF transverse susceptibility experiments reveal the presence of a double-peak structure at T≤245 K (the Curie temperature) but a single peak at T>245 K. This distinguishes the low temperature ferromagnetic state from the high temperature paramagnetic state. The effective magnetic anisotropy field (H_K), which corresponds to the peak location of χ_T, has been found to increase with decrease in temperature from the Curie temperature.     

The instability point H s of the Meissner state for large-κ superconductors

The critical field H _s corresponding to the emergence of vortices in a superconductor without a threshold is found near the transition temperature and in the limit as T→0 for an arbitrary value of the depairing factor Γ. In superconductors of the second kind, this field value coincides with the absolute instability point of the Meissner state. In large-κ superconductors, the order parameter tends to zero on the surface of the super-conductor if the external magnetic field reaches the value H _s. We obtain that H _s=H _cm (where H _cm is the thermodynamic critical field) for an arbitrary value of the depairing factor Γin the temperature region near T _c and at T=0.     

Magnetic-field-controlled phase separation in manganites: Electron magnetic resonance study

The electron magnetic resonance spectra of Sm_1?x Sr _x MnO₃ (x = 0.30, 0.40, 0.45) manganites have been studied. At temperatures that are higher than the Curie point by several tens of kelvins, samples with x = 0.40 and 0.45 exhibit a ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) spectrum imposed on their usual EPR spectrum. The FMR spectrum appears as the applied magnetic field H exceeds a certain critical field H _c , which decreases upon cooling and becomes zero at T = T _C . These results agree with the magnetic-measurement data and indicate the magnetic-field-induced nucleation and growth of ferromagnetic domains in a paramagnetic matrix. In the initial growth stage, the volume of the ferromagnetic domains is proportional to (H ? H _c )^β, where β = 4.0 ± 0.3, and it changes in phase with magnetic field modulation up to a frequency of 100 kHz. In the same field and temperature ranges, hysteretic phenomena and narrow unstable spectral lines are detected; these lines indicate a dynamic character of the phase separation. The results obtained are interpreted in terms of the competition of different types of magnetic and charge ordering.     

Complete magnetizing field relating with magnetization reversal dynamics

We report the experimental finding that a complete magnetizing field H_M exists in magnetization reversal dynamics of ferromagnetic thin films, which is much larger than the apparent magnetic saturation field measured from the major hysteresis loop. Magnetization reversal dynamics contrastingly changes from nucleation dominated to wall-motion dominated according to an initial magnetization state magnetized by a field below H_M, whereas it is basically unchanged when the field is larger than H_M. The complete magnetizing field is found to be 1.5–2.0 times larger than the apparent magnetic saturation field and 6–10 times smaller than the anisotropy field in Co/Pd multilayer thin films.     

The exchange bias and coercivity of FM/AFM films: Monte Carlo simulation

The exchange bias (H_E) and coercivity (H_C) of the ferromagnet/antiferromagnet (FM/AFM) films have been simulated with Monte Carlo method. The simulated results indicate that, the value of H_E decreases with increasing temperature, and the values of H_E and the blocking temperature T_b at which H_E=0 reduce evidently with decreasing absolute value of interlayer exchange coupling JI. It also is found that for the large absolute values of JI, the maximum in H_C occurs very close to T_b. At the same time, it is observed that the diluted ratio of FM at FM/AFM interface influences clearly the value of H_E. The simulated results are consistent with the experimental facts. The maximum behaviour in the H_C−T curves has been explained by the interplay of the softening of some fraction of the spins in the AFM layer near T_N′ and the disorder of the spins in FM layer near Curie temperature T_C.     

Small-angle neutron spin-flip scattering in ferromagnetic films

This paper reports on the results of reflectometric measurements of anisotropic (Co₆₇Fe₃₁V₂) and almost isotropic (Fe) films prepared by magnetron sputtering. Nonspecular reflections and the corresponding peaks of the intensities of refracted neutrons have been observed for the alloy samples in magnetic fields H ≤ 7 Oe applied in the film plane along the easy magnetization axis. For iron films, angular splitting of the reflected neutron beam becomes observable only at H > 100 Oe and increases with an increase in the magnetic field. A general scheme has been proposed for this small-angle scattering with allowance made for different variants of changes in the Zeeman energy of neutrons. This scheme has allowed us to identify the magnetic structures of Co-Fe films. The magnetization of 0.15-μm-thick films with uniaxial and unidirectional textures leads to the formation of unidirectional textures characterized by different intensity distributions, for which the qualitative differences are retained with an increase in the magnetic field from 7 to 800 Oe. It has been revealed that, for 2.5-μm-thick films with the initial unidirectional texture, the oppositely magnetized states are nonequivalent.     

Generation of an external magnetic field with the spin orientation effect in a single layer Ising nanographene

In this work, the magnetic properties of the single layer Ising nanogaphene (SLING) are investigated by using Kaneyoshi approach (KA) within the effective field theory for different spin orientations of its magnetic atoms. We find that the magnetizations of the SLING has no phase transition, certain Curie temperature and distinct peak of susceptibility at T_c for the some spin orientations at the zero external magnetic field (H=0.0). Because these behaviors occur at H≠0.0, we suggest that the SLING generates an external magnetic field and behaves as an external magnetic field generator for these spin orientations. However, the SLING exhibits ferromagnetic behaviors for only one spin orientations. But, it exhibits antiferromagnetic behaviors for the others. For the AFM cases, diamagnetic susceptibility behaviors and type II superconductivity hysteresis behaviors are obtained. We hope that these results can open a door to obtain new class of single layer graphene and graphene-based magnetic field generator devices with the spin orientation effect.     

New magnetic phase transition between electron-hole drops and free-excitons in pure Ge

We have discovered a new magnetic phase transition between free-excitons and electron-hole drops in high purity Ge near the critical point of the liquid-gas phase diagram. The critical magnetic field is found to be H_c ≈ 0.4 T. For H?H_c the electron-hole drops are stable to higher temperatures by about 1 K with respect to zero field.     

Transport properties of the single-crystal La2−xBaxCuO4 (0≤x≤0.11)

We report on the temperature dependence of the in-plane electrical resistivity ρ_ab and the in-plane Hall coefficient R_H in various magnetic fields of the single-crystal La_2−xBa_xCuO₄ with x=0.083 and 0.11. In x=0.11, which is close to x=1/8, where the superconductivity is strongly suppressed, a clear jump in ρ_ab and a drop in R_H have been observed at T_d2∼53 K, where the structural phase transition between the orthorhombic mid-temperature and tetragonal low-temperature phases occurs. Moreover, a sign reversal of R_H has been observed below ∼25 K and the magnitude of the sign reversal increases with increasing magnetic field. In x=0.083, on the other hand, there is neither jump in ρ_ab nor drop in R_H at T_d2, and also no sign reversal in R_H at low temperatures even in magnetic fields up to 9 T. In conclusion, there is no doubt that a static stripe order of holes and spins, observed in La_1.6−xNd_0.4Sr_xCuO₄ with x∼1/8, is formed below T_d2 also in La_2−xBa_xCuO₄ with x∼1/8. The R_H in the stripe-ordered state has a negative value, which is consistent with the recent theory by Prelovšek et al.